Good Monday morning, Evanston.
Evanston put on its finery Friday for the Chessmen Club gala – that’s Bryant Wallace (from left), Marcel Sallis and Steven Frost in the photo above. It’s been two years since the organization was last able to hold its annual Community Service Awards Dinner and Benefit in person.
Evanston lawns are also getting gussied-up, but in a spooky fashion, featuring pumpkins, goblins and witches. The RoundTable is compiling a roundup of local Halloween displays. Please email us a picture of the decorations at your house or business – or one near you – by 5 p.m. Tuesday and we will include it in our Wednesday newsletter. Don’t forget to list the address (or just the block), so others can drive by for a look.
And now, on to the news.
The Chessmen Club of the North Shore honored two phenomenal women Oct. 14: Robin Rue Simmons, former Fifth Ward council member and the key architect of Evanston’s reparations project (above, left), and Monique Parsons, president and CEO of the McGaw YMCA and vice president of the District 202 ETHS Board. Also honored was Olivia Ohlsen, student activist and athlete, known for her nonprofit acumen, even as a teenager. The all-Black service organization, which is 64 years old, raised more than $120,000. Enjoy the RoundTable’s photo essay and wrap up.
More than 200 people turned out yesterday in Raymond Park, many wearing pink and carrying signs declaring, “Abortion is a Healthcare Right,” and “Women’s Rights are Human Rights.” They were there protesting the U.S. Supreme Court’s rollback in June of the constitutional right to an abortion.
Dogs and their humans from all over Evanston descended on the lakefront Saturday, Oct. 15, for the official reopening of the city’s dog beach. Advocates were initially worried that no one with two or four legs would show up, but within 20 minutes of the opening time, more than 40 dogs and their people had gathered to celebrate.
COVID-19 by the numbers: 16 new cases and no new deaths were reported Thursday, Oct. 13, the last day the city updated case totals. The seven-day average is 9.86 cases per day.
Elsewhere on the RoundTable website
Dear Gabby: I hear you! Gabby hits on all the points of advice given to her on what to do with the money from the honest hit-and-run delivery driver who delivered a cash payment for damages to her door.
Books: Author comes to Northwestern as part of ‘One Book’ effort. Clint Smith, author of How the Word is Passed: A Reckoning with The History of Slavery Across America, will be the keynote speaker for “One Book One Northwestern” on Tuesday, Oct. 18 at Galvin Hall, an event open to the greater Evanston community.
Letter to the editor: Let’s lower the temperature on our politics. “Despite the political polarization rocking our nation, 69% of both Democrats and Republicans actually agree on something: Our democracy is in danger of collapse. So why is this issue not being addressed by every candidate running for office?” ask Svetlana Bekman and Leslie Lepeska.
Get out and vote
The election information you need: The RoundTable has a voter guide on how to register for the election and vote by mail, as well as the locations of polling places and additional details. The last date for online voter registration is Sunday, Oct. 23. Evanston voters face decisions on 64 candidates running for 36 positions, 60 judges running for retention and three referendums. To help, the RoundTable also has a full run-down of the Nov. 8 ballot, with links to campaign websites and more info.
Join our team: The Evanston RoundTable is growing! Check out our jobs page for reporting and writing opportunities in editorial.
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Around the web
An explosion, a burst of flames, then screams: ‘Kamikaze’ drones rain down on Kyiv. As many as 28 explosive-laden drones were launched on Monday at targets around Kyiv’s central railway station and elsewhere in Ukraine’s capital.
Gates Foundation pledges $1.2 billion to eradicate polio globally. The Global Polio Eradication Initiative is a public-private partnership led by a group of national governments and organizations, including Evanston-based Rotary International.
Bringing Evanston’s mental health living room to life. Evanston Township High School student newspaper The Evanstonian reports that there has been no work yet at the planned site for the crisis center. According to First Ward Council member Clare Kelly, the architect hired to design the living room has taken longer than expected to get plans back to the city.
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